Verbal Phrases
🔎 What Are Verbal Phrases?
Verbals are words that are formed from verbs but do not act as main verbs in a sentence. When they form phrases, we call them verbal phrases. These phrases function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs in a sentence.
There are three types of verbal phrases:
🔴 1. Gerund Phrases
A gerund is a verb ending in -ing that functions as a noun. A gerund phrase includes the gerund and any objects or modifiers.
✅ Function: Acts as a noun
(can be a subject, object, or complement)
🧾 Examples:
Swimming is my favorite activity. → (subject)
She enjoys reading historical novels. → (object)
His passion is painting landscapes. → (subject complement)
Tip: If you can replace the phrase with “something” or “it” and the sentence still makes sense, it’s likely a gerund phrase.
🔵 2. Participle Phrases
A participle is a verb form used as an adjective.
Present participles end in -ing.
Past participles often end in -ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n.
A participle phrase includes the participle and any accompanying modifiers or objects.
✅ Function: Acts as an adjective (describes a noun)
🧾 Examples:
Walking through the forest, she felt calm.
The book placed on the table is mine.
Exhausted by the long day, he went straight to bed.
Tip: Participle phrases usually come before or after the noun they modify.
🟢 3. Infinitive Phrases
An infinitive is the base form of a verb preceded by “to” (e.g., to eat, to run). An infinitive phrase includes the infinitive and its modifiers or objects.
✅ Function: Can act as a noun, adjective, or adverb
🧾 Examples:
I want to learn English quickly. → (noun, object of "want")
She has a book to read before class. → (adjective describing "book")
He came to help us. → (adverb explaining why he came)
Tip: If you see “to + verb,” it's likely an infinitive.
🧠 Mini Quiz: Identify the Verbal Phrase Type
Instructions:
Read each sentence. Identify whether the bold phrase is a Gerund, Participle, or Infinitive phrase.
🏁 Scoring:
5/5: Excellent! You're mastering verbal phrases.
3–4/5: Great progress. Review tricky spots.
1–2/5: No problem — go back and study the types again.
